Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Will

Even though I had told Alexis that I was feeling all right, that sensation of finality had not gone away. It came back even harder when we went ashore and returned to the commune. During the drive back to the commune, I took one last look at the smoldering building. The fire had been contained by the firefighters, and the area had been cordoned off with caution tape.

Something unfathomable deep within me spoke to me yet again. It told me that things as I knew them were about to come to an end. I had been brave all my life. The bravest I had been was when I was kidnapped and tortured for decades. I had not lost an ounce of hope, even in that darkness. My courage had not abandoned me now. This was a different feeling—a feeling of coming to terms with some covert prophecy.

In the old days, our ancestors used to adhere to the prophecy of Ragnarok. The death of the gods, the end of the world, and the birth of a new universe from that cataclysm. That same feeling resounded within me.

After all, everything must end. Even this life of mine, prolonged as it was, had to come to an end.

I was deeply appreciative of Alexis for two things. One, she had taken me out to the sea to distract me from my thoughts. Two, she gave me some space to get my head in order as we went back to the commune.

As we went into my home, I saw the clutter of wires, motherboards, circuitry, and strange terminals all over my coffee table.

“What is this?” I asked, looking at Vincent, who was grinning guiltily.

“I know you said that you didn’t want anything to do with the device, but Maliha and I got to talking, and we came up with something,” Vincent said.

For the first time ever, I was cautious. Not scared, but a little worried. Vincent was the man I was going to leave in charge. If he was not capable of making good decisions, then who was I going to leave in charge?

“What have you done?” I asked, my anger trying to break free from its cage. “Did you disobey my order?”

“Will! We did nothing of the sort,” Maliha interjected. “While you two were gone, Vincent and I tinkered around with the idea of creating a wavelength jammer, and you know, he’s quite gifted with computers. Not as much as me, but still quite gifted. We came up with a solution that you won’t hate. I promise.”

I shot a look at Alexis, who shook her head and said, “This was not my idea.”

“Fine. Tell me what you have,” I said finally, deciding to hear them out.

“This device,” Maliha said, placing a machine in my hands. “Creates a wavelength jammer that does not distort the original frequency. It creates a blockade that essentially freezes the motor functions of those who are controlled by the hive mind. Think of it like a dam. A dam stops water. This machine stops the wavelength. No soldiers will die. They’ll just be frozen in place, not knowing what to do,” she said.

“And how certain are you of this?”

“Let’s just say that I am willing to bet my entire reputation on this,” Maliha said. “I ran one test. The machine works. If you insist, you and I can head out and search for more soldiers and test this device on them just to be extra sure.”

“What else does this device do?” Alexis asked, taking the machine from me and looking at it with wonder.

“If you crank this dial, it will effectively kill those soldiers by sending destructive interference signals. If you keep the crank low, it will only freeze them. But no matter what you do, it will stop all parent signals coming from the source. No more soldier hordes. No more attacks from Blair’s army.”

I sighed. As risky as this was, it was our best bet. This town could not handle more explosions. There was no more desire for warfare left in me either. If this was the solution that would let me take on Blair one-on-one, then I had to agree to it.

“How long until the device is finished?”

“We need to fix it at the top of the radio tower in the commune to increase its range,” Vincent said. “But…just to be sure, you’re giving us the green light to go ahead?”

“Yes. You may install the device. I have given it much thought, and I think that I can trust you both to run things in my absence,” I said.

“Why do you keep saying that? Are you going somewhere?” Vincent asked worriedly. “Are you sick? Has something happened to him, Lexie?”

“I…it’s for Will to say. Not me,” Alexis said.

“Listen, Vince…I think, after all these ends, I might leave—”

I did not get to finish my sentence. At that moment, a series of explosions shook the ground and triggered tinnitus in my ears. Hurriedly, we all headed out of the house and saw a great fire burning to the south of the commune.

“Blair!” I yelled. His facility was in the south of the town. This was his doing, no doubt.

“Will, come here!” Morgan called from the watchtower. All the pack was assembled at the gates. I climbed atop the watchtower and saw Blair’s army teeming out of the south, neatly in a formation. Thousands of soldiers just stood there, waiting for orders from their leader. I could make out Blair standing at the head of the army, his body covered in armor.

“So it has finally come to this,” I said. “The final battle of my time.”

“Will. We’re not going to fight them, are we?” Alexis asked. “There are too many of them!”

“Our only hope right now is Maliha and Vincent’s device. Immediately tell them to get to the top of the cell tower and install the device. This cannot wait. War is upon us, and we must all fight for our lives,” I said.

As Alexis ran for the house, she turned around and stopped for a second, saying, “You were right about something bad happening every time we leave this place. I wonder what will happen when we leave it permanently.”

“Alexis, there’s no time!” I said. “Go. Escort the two to the tower!”

“What about us?” Morgan asked.

I turned around, facing the entire pack that was gathered around the gate.

“It has been an honor being your Alpha. You have taught me so much. I have learned to cherish life by living among such fine people as yourselves. I have asked too much of you, time and time again. But tonight, I must ask you one more thing. Down there, an army of mutated soldiers waits for us, led by a man who means to wipe us all out. Tonight, we are not just a pack of wolves living in the Grimm Abode. Tonight, we are defenders. We will stand tall and stand together to fight Blair, even if it means that all of us face our demise. Will you all fight with me in one last glorious battle of our lives!?”

There were no cheers. The occasion did not demand cheers. There were battle cries. Wolves howled with their faces to the moon. The men yelled with their fists in the sky. The woman shrieked like the shield maidens and Valkyries of old. Seeing my pack stand around me bolstered my spirits. With these people by my side, my odds against Blair were not bad.

Even though it was on me why Blair was here, had I not blown up his building and killed hundreds of his soldiers, he would have continued to wait in the shadows. But this war started when I drew first blood. It would end with one of us left standing.

“Morgan! You take twenty of your good men with you and secure the perimeter of Fiddler’s Green. Under no circumstances should any soldier move past your defenses. The city folk must remain safe. When the battle starts, you can rejoin us after you have done your duty!”

“Aye, Will!” Morgan said and began picking the members of his platoon.

“Vincent! Why are you still here with Maliha? Head to the tower. Install the device. Turn it on as soon as you can, then join me on the battlefield!”

“As you say, Captain,” Vincent said, saluting me, then heading to the tower with Maliha.

“Alexis, you’re by my side. You will remain so until the battle ends.”

“And I will remain by your side until I die,” Alexis said, placing her hand on my heart.

“The rest of you, follow me. This is the last march of the Grimm wolves. March to make your ancestors proud. March for war. March for victory!”

Together, all of the pack members shifted into their wolf forms and followed me and Alexis down the slope of the hill, heading towards the battlefield where Blair and all his men stood waiting.

I hoped that Maliha and Vincent would fit the device and make it work just in time. Even though I had taken all the pack with me to war, I knew that all of us combined could not take out all those soldiers. There were simply too many of them.

After fifteen minutes, we stopped our stampede and came to a halt in the field south of Fiddler’s Green. It was a big field that was rendered a little too small by the sheer size of Blair’s army.

Blair stood at the center of the field, smoking a cigar, looking smug and victorious.

“You know, if you cocksuckers hadn’t blown up my tower, I wouldn’t have even budged tonight,” Blair said. “But push comes to fucking shove, and here I am. Congratulations. I may be the last man standing on the team that originally ruled this town, but I am goddamn certain that I will kill you all and reclaim this place in the name of my father and my friends, Maurice and Ralph!”

I could not let this asshole yap away. I shifted into my human form, taking giant strides toward the center of the field to meet Blair.

“Your father was a perverted old man. Your friends were the corrupt cunts who festered at the bottom of their species’ pyramid. Look at my face when I talk to you and know that I was the one who killed all three. Just like I will kill you tonight,” I said, my eyes red with rage, molten magma coursing through my veins, all my pent-up rage unlocked in the wake of this madness.